The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-03
Rice Culture.
n. o. Times-DemOcrat.


n. o. Times-Democrat.
Mr.. George w. Lee, of Grand Prairie,
La, whose marked success in rice cul-
ture has gained him the credit of pos
sessing some secret method unknown To
his neighbors, tells the LaSaIle Agricul-
tural Society, of Plaquemines Parish,
how to grow rice:
l. The field should be properly laid off
in squares and ditched. with a view to
easy and uniform inundation.
2. Every farm of fifty acres or less
should have a large and deep irrigating
ditch connected with the river by a well
| constructed flume, set deep enough
| through the leyee 50 that there viii be
no obstruction to a free and plentiful
| flow of water at every decline of the
| river. Nearly all the marsh lands on
| the lower coast can be inundated when
the river is three feet above low water
| mark.
| Irrigating bitches should also be sup
| piled with small fumes. at intel walls of
| from 300 to 400 feet. for the purpose of
checking and controlling the water at the
| will of the farmer. As tie average de-
/ clivity of our lands is about four inches
| to the acre, cross bitches should not be
| farther apart than 100 to $50 feet. the
| former is the better rule. with the levees
/ ALWAYS in the rear of the declivitous
| side. BY this means you can secure a
more even and complete submersiOn.
| These bitches, as well as all others per
tanning to a rice field, should be cleaned
| out in the fall soon after harvesting
as possible. Too many defer this in DOR
tant work until the time they should
| start to plOw; this Is one of the chief
| causes why we often cannot pillow our
| lands.
| Flowing should follow Immediately
after ditching, so that the land can lie ex-
1 Il Al.
as possible. 1T is needless to say good
blowing and narrowing constitute one of
the most essential branches of labor per
| tanning to a rice field as. unlike other
| CROPS there is only one time in a season
that it can be done. The proper season
for sowing is from April until May 10,
although | have sOwn as late as May %
and obtained good results.
MIR. Lee also suggested that owing to
the uncertainty of the stage of the river.
and storms which prevail at certain sea-
| sons that farmers SOW all their crops in
April. He also deprecates thin seeding,
too many adhering to the reprehensible
practice of sowing eighty-One pounds of
seed per acre. when 100 to 120 pounds
should bC the rule, the latter depending
upon the season. If the stand is too
thick it can be thinned out by properly
immersing the young plant.
| SEED.
Too much attention cannot be paid to
the quality of seed sown; farmers should
ALWAYS select their seed from their ear
| Hest growth for the ensuing year, and
would recommend that they change seed
every two or three years; seed sown too
long ON the same ground will naturally
, degenerate
In order to keep supplied with good
seed at little cost, farmers should every
two years buy n few barrels of choice
, | imported seed and sow on clean land;
they will find it will more than pay their
pains and expense. 1t costs no more to
raise a crop of choice white rice than 1T
does one of inferior red. There is a diff
ference of from twenty-five to seventy
five cents per barrel now in the market
for choice white rice, To say nothing
about quicker sales.
l GRASSING.
1 Grassing should begin as soon as the
: grass has attained a size that it can be
: pulled up by the roots. and not left until
!, | yUu have 10 resort TO a knife; this pro
cess Is the cause of SO much seedy rice
: now on the market. too much unskilled
1 labor is employed, many kinds of OBJ
4 noxious weeds and grasses, after being
. cut. grow out again and produce more
seed than before. / think it necessary
: that the water be occasionally turned of
r the ground for two or three DAYS at the
y time, in order that the plant can
strengthen. There is mistake, think
too prevalent in keeping a body of wa
q ter banked up in the squares until the
D river refuses the supplying.
: HARVESTING.
just when is the proper time to har-
vest is another subject nearly every one
' have their little peculiar ideas
r about. Many recommend that cutting
Ii Il L
green. contending that it makes the
$ bean firmer to stand the process of the
mill. They do not seem to be aware OF
a the fact that it also makes the stem
tougher to resist the process of the
u thresher.
t My method is to cut as soon as the
5 grain is thoroughly matured; then let il
be done as quick as possible, inside of &
week if weather permits.
Immature rice. as well as everything
l else. is Improbable to the farmer as wei
S as the purchaser.
h Can rice be raised profitably at S2.5
. per barrel? is the problem now puzzlinl
L the minds of the farmers as well as tin,
e merchants.
: / have no doubt rice can be raised at
- small profit at $3.50 per barrel. Bu
there must be a radical change from tn,
!, old system, boil. on the part of thu
e farmer and the merchant. Farmer
q must do more work themselves and hir,
1, less.
MIR. Lee cor cluded his essay with goos
IT advice to- farmers in the management o
II their land, stating that the proprietor
, with the aid of one hired man, coul,
easily manage a forty-acre farm unit
" harvest. When. by skilful management
re the yield should be at least fifteen bar
5. rels per acre, depending somewhat upoi
p the season. He also advocates the aboli
= ton of the task system, paying hands 5
u for four or five hours work; recon-
1T mends that landlords be more moderat
4 in their rents. as they often claim one
v fourth share of the crop. which is extor
: ton; that merchants be more scrupulou
. in their dealings. and reduce their pei
Is centage to suit the times. saying that
1t was not uncommon to charge 10 pc
, cent for the Use of money for tw
:. months, and a larger percentage ON pre-
> visions
Or If this is the case, and we have N
DR. doubt that the charge can be fully sui
-. stantiated. we do not wonder that tn
poorer classes of rice growers are KEEP
81 in chronic state of poverty. In fact
40 one instance came to our notice where
NJ poor, but honest and industrious ric
planter, had occasion to use a couple q
e hundred dollars TO assist him i'm maxi in
rs his crop of fifty acres. atually paid Il
Sc per cent premium in interest and extr
r. profits on provisions
We do not wonder that an averag
aS man, under circumstances like the abov,
ty should always be in debt. The onl
ne mystery is how he succeeded in keepin
20 himself and from starvation.